Idol Worship
by XoxStrifexoX
Summary: He didn't have a fucking cape and he certainly didn't have any armor or a white horse and sword. He just happened upon a drugged up brat in a bad situation and intervened like any decent human being should. How Hanji's idea of a fun little party ended up with him having being followed around but this shitty brat was just beyond him. Warnings: Ereri/Riren Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

A light fragrance of peach and orange rose along the steam from the small porcelain cup cradled in his hands. A beautiful moonlit night, soft muted light filtering into the room. It was quiet, soothing even, despite the hum of insects outside the home. Through the crystal clear panes of glass a crisp image of the nightscape granted an alluring sight to behold. A soft sigh from slightly parted lips. This was how good nights were spent. Curled up on the couch with a warm fleece blanket wrapped around his shoulders that still carried the clean scent of detergent. With the perfect cup of tea and no bombardment of noise to grate on ones nerves. Calm. Relaxing. Perfect.

Everything that this night certainly fucking wasn't.

The cold liquid that soaked through the back of his shirt had him involuntarily arching to get away from the offending wetness; knowing full well the action would not let him escape it as he had intended. Slurred apologies and giggling followed from whomever dared to soak him with the now drying beverage. His nose immediately assaulted by the fermented scent and his skin now sticky. His immediate response would've been to drop whoever had done this is the ground with the heel of his foot and return the favor. A morbid fantasy of his foot grinding into the face of this moron. His free arm rested on his bent knee, towering over the bastard with however powerful a glare he could muster, as he poured cup after cup of beer over the shitty brats face til he was spurting for air. And so help him god he'd do it till he drained every drop of that stupefying liquid in this house onto the little fuck.

Turning with every intent to do just that he falls short as he's faced with an obnoxiously tall female. Considering his own height she was probably only slightly taller than average but the fact he had to look up to meet her drunken gaze was not helping. Nor was that damned mouth of hers.

"Oh my Gawd! I'm totally sorry I didn't even see you. Gosh you're cute little thing ha ha," she rambled on as he swore he felt a vein popping out from his forehead.

Any retort he attempted was immediately swallowed up by the shrill shriek of the female in front of him as a cup of beer was unceremoniously dumped down the front of her shirt. The male behind her laughing as he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck.  
"Now you two are even!"

The two laughed as if the scenario were actually funny. This is why he never, ever, came to these things. The shortest of the group scowled and swore the moment he found Hanji he would grab the glasses straight from her head and paint them red.

"Hey guy," the man lifted his head from the girls shoulder with a sloppy grin, "why don't I get you two cleaned up. I'll take real good care of freshening you both up real nice."

Upon the questioning brow rising on his features he took a good look at the two sloshed idiots. The female had a rather large amount of black smeared under her eyes where her caked on make-up had bled. Her hair was probably at one point in a tight messy bun, but now it lay loose enough to reach her shoulders, stray strands falling free. The wet shirt clung to her body, dark and tinted where the beer soaked in. Perhaps that would seem like a turn on to most guys. However, considering the fact that he was not most guys and the liquid forcing her shirt to stick to her body was none other than beer; which was fucking gross; he remained completely unaffected. The male didn't fare much better. His short hair a mess on top of his head, like one too many had ruffled it into such a chaotic disaster or an awful case of bed head. Both looked filthy, they smelt filthy, and he was sure that neither of them could possibly handle any type of physical exercise unless it involved copious amounts of alcohol. His face fell further. He would soak himself in bleach for days just from bumping into these wasted sperms and this guy had the audacity to imply his hormonal request to 'freshen him up' would entice him? The once solid look of annoyance replaced with absolute disgust. Even just the pad of one of their fingers would urge him to take a brillo pad soaked in hydrogen peroxide to the afflicted area. Just what the fuck is wrong with these people?

"I'll pass," he drawled out and added with a twitch of a smirk, "A fresh shit would probably have a fresher scent than you two."

The once sloppy grin turned into an angry scowl. It seemed alcohol was no longer the only thing turning the kid's face red. Even the female squeaked in a high pitch sound of irritation. She immediately went into a string of curse words while the male spoke over her.

"The fuck is your problem you fucking midget?!"

In retrospect he didn't like these parties. He didn't want to attend in the first place, nor did he plan, after tonight, to ever attend another one of Hanji's failed social experiments. So really… there would be no real consequence in beating the piss out of the drunkard who dare insult such a taboo subject as his height. He uttered the insult under his breath as he nodded to himself deeming that one word worthy enough for obliterating this shit stain before him.

One step forward and…

"Guys! Guys! Ha-ha," an arm snaked itself around his shoulders and Hanji playfully stroked his hair, "This guys like a cat isn't he? Real playful but quick to use his claws if you stroke him the wrong way. The trick is right behind the ears…," as she said this she lightly scratched behind his ear and cooed.

Amused the male and female duo broke back into grins, tension and insults lost as they both were entertained by the sight in front of them. He, however, was anything but pleased. He smacked her hand away and glared at the lunatic who dared to touch him so casually. This action, apparently, found even more amusement from the now trio.

"Aw you see there," Hanji mock pouted.

"He is like a cat isn't he? So cute," the girl giggled.

"That temper on him has some bite," the drunk mumbled thoughtfully, "too bad he won't be joining us. I do like a bit of teeth and claws."

At the lame comment he nearly gagged, more so even when as he dragged the female god knows where to do what he was currently denying any knowledge about. She took the time to turn and look over her shoulder while curling her hand and making meowing sounds towards him laughing and stumbling all the same.

At least he was free from two of three idiots. Now to deal with the third…

"If you're quite finished I'd appreciate it if you'd back the fuck off."

"Aw, come now Rivai! No harm no foul. You just need to relax… have some fun!"

He ground his teeth, "Fun? Fun would be tying you upside down to a tree like a piñata and beating the shit out of you with a stick."

Hanji laughed unperturbed by the obvious threat, "Oh come now, you wouldn't dare, and too messy you wouldn't want to stain your clothes or deal with the clean up!"

"Tch, whatever. I need a shower compliments to your most charming of guests."

Hanji chuckled eyeing the mess made of his clothing. No wonder he was breaking out the death threats so early.

"Help yourself upstairs. You know where my room is," Hanji smiled a bit too wide, "you could borrow some of my clothes too. I did get this lovely little number recently, cute with lace and a tight fit, not to short either, reaches a few inches further than the no nos."

That wasn't too short?

"In your dreams shitty glasses," Rivaille spat turning on heel. The prospect of a shower sounding heavenly at the moment. He tried his best to ignore the shout behind him.

"How'd you know?!"

Making the small trip up the stairs to Hanji's room and the sanctuary of a private shower seemed more like an endless journey. Stumbling drooling ingrates blocked his path. Sloppy teens making out, rough housing, laughing far too loudly… He had half a mind to kick each one over the banister. Once finally making it up to the room he opened the door cautiously hoping no one decided to 'occupy' it. He wouldn't put it past these savages to become indecent; as proven by the two flakes that provoked him earlier. As he stepped inside he stiffened noticing the light in the bathroom was on. A think ray of light peeking under the door and along the crack of its opening. He heard a muffled voice, the sound of the shower, and immediately bristled. Hell. No.

Without caring what sight might burn into his retina's he ripped the door open. No one was going to stop him from washing this filth off him god dammit, and he damn well knew no one was supposed to be in here anyway.

"My patience is running fucking thi…," his brow furrowed at the sight before him. As if the night couldn't get any worse.

"Get out," the poisoned seeped through his teeth as the shocked male in front of him hastily jumped backward and bolted past him out the door. Rivaille didn't budge from his spot in the room even as the guy bumped his shoulder. With a huff and a brush of his hand through his hair he stepped forward to assess the damage done.

He reached into the shower and turned the water off and pushed the curtain out of the way. A frown marred his features as he took a look over the individual in the tub. His long legs hung over the side of the tub. His head propped up uncomfortably against the other side of the tub and the tiled shower wall. His lip looked split, water mixed with the blood to drip more fluidly down his chin. The kid's hair was mostly matted to his head but there was an obvious area that was most likely pulled, yanked, or held, if the angry red of the scalp or the strands standing about had anything to say about it. The kid was shivering, wrists bound by his own belt, at least he assumed it was his. At least he still had all his clothes intact, ruffled from a bit of a struggle no doubt, but whether it was just hazing or something else entirely the kid was lucky he showed up when he did. Though this wasn't anything he himself wanted the least bit to do with at all.

Fucking Christ.

"Hey kid, I'm going to help you out of there alright?"

He wanted to add if this kid was dumb enough to strike him he'd knock his ass out but he figured that would do little for the kid's nerves and more than likely further complicate the situation.

He was surprised when unfocused eyes opened half way to register who was now speaking. His pupils far too large and Rivaille's gut sank.

As he lifted the boneless boy out of tub he found himself glad that despite his small stature he was strong enough to lift this brat. He was dead weight as Rivaille wrapped the towel around his body as best he could with only one available hand to work with. He stepped out of the bathroom walking over to the bed before placing the boy down on the mattress. Finding the light he flicked it on and searched through Hanji's closet for something dry to throw the boy in. After a few moments of browsing through all her clothes from her 'tom boy' faze he found a large shirt and a pair of basketball gym shorts. Returning to the bed he heaved a sigh when he noticed the unfocused eyes trying their best to glare at him in question to his intentions.

Ignoring him completely Rivaille unbound the boy's wrists and sat him up struggling to pull the cotton shirt over his head. He took a smaller towel and dried off the kid's hair and body as best he could before slipping the worn shirt over his head. It wasn't until he frowned at having to replace the clothing on his lower half that Rivaille scowled.

"It'll be fun Rivaille. Come hang out it'll be great," he mocked the words Hanji had said to him prior to this disastrous excuse of a get together.

As he moved to unbutton and remove the wet denim from the kid's body a weak shaking hand tried its best to grip his wrist to stop him. He raised his brow to look at the other male whose breath was ragged and eyes piercing despite the drugged pupils and heavy lids. His hands were just as frightfully cold as the rest of his body.

"Please," Rivaille spat bitterly, "Don't lump me together with that creep. Let me change your pants into these," at this he lifted the shorts in view for the boy to focus on, "So I can take a fucking shower and get this beer reeking on my back off."

The brat looked unsure at first before either relenting or his body just losing its strength all over again. He paused only for a moment before stripping the kid of his remaining clothing, hastily drying him and slipping on the shorts. That being done he placed the kid higher on the bed and covered him with Hanji's comforter.

"Sleep it off kid," Rivaille commanded as he wiped the corner of the kid's mouth free of whatever blood remained.

Before running straight for the shower he decided it best to lock the door so no one could enter. Last thing he needed was that creep to show back up while he was in the shower.

He was calling this party off for Hanji. Just not right yet. No, first he needed a shower. Then he could deal with this bullshit.

Showered, changed, beer free and a text to Hanji about what just happened and the party was cut off. The music, the god awful fucking music, was turned off and the noises outside died down as people shuffled out. Hanji placed a cheerful face on and said goodbye to the majority of guests trying to smother the rumors for the party's cancellation before they started. A quiet knock on the door and Rivaille opened to Hanji pulling him into the hallway asking him for a more detailed description of what took place. Frowning she nodded as he reiterated what he witnessed and the state the brat he found was in.

"Well, sounds like he was slipped a roofy. It doesn't really sound like he's drunk at least. How is his breathing? Do you know if he'd been drinking?"

Rivaille scoffed at the bombardment of questions. He knew about as much as she did as far as all that was concerned.

"How the hell would I know if he was drinking or not. I found him in a fucking tub."

"His breathing is fine though," he added.

Hanji nodded, "Well as long as he isn't having trouble breathing he'll just have to sleep it off. Do you mind keeping an eye on him until he wakes up?"

"Hanji," he warned not thrilled at all at the idea.

"If he wakes up to see another stranger hovering over him he might lash out. At least you could handle that much easier than I could, and sides, you practically saved him from that guy. Who knows maybe he'll develop some idol worship," she winked before started down the stairs before he could refuse her request, "I'll be cleaning up downstairs if you need me!"

Forget hanging her from a tree. He'd settle for dropping her off the roof and dusting his hands clean of it on his way out the front door.

Begrudgingly he turned on his heel and stalked back into the room pulling her computer chair closer to the bed. He checked the kid's forehead for a temperature relieved to find now. He dared to smell the kid's breath for alcohol against what every OCD ridden nerve in his body screamed for him not to. To his surprise there was no scent of strong alcohol or beer, which would have increased the risk of things progressing further south for the kid, and he was in no mood to deal with a hospital or ambulance at the moment.

Some time passed before the brat started to stir. His eyes shot open as he tried to jolt up no doubt confused by his surroundings. Rivaille simply pressed him back softly against the mattress and told him to relax. That no boogey man were lurking about and that he just needed to let this drug run out of his system.

A small nod and an audible gulp and a rasp of some broken word suspiciously sounding of thanks.

Rivaille sighed and told him not to move as he got up and fished a paper cup from Hanji's bathroom and filled it with tap. Returning to the room he helped the kid sit up and pulled the cup to his lips with an order to drink. The boy complied greedily, no doubt his throat dry. After he finished the cup placed the cup on the stand.

The brat opened his mouth as if he was going to speak, his form still wavering a bit as he tried to fully focus stubbornly.

"You don't have to tell me what went on," he assured not sure if that's what was bothering the other or not. Examining his features he noticed dark brown brows folded in frustration. Green eyes dropped to focus on his hands which rubbed at his raw wrists. Brown damp locks hung limply as his mouth formed into a thin line.

"I…," he cleared his voice when the syllable came out in a raspy tone.

"Di- Did he?"

The question died off his tongue as he looked back to the marks on his wrists.

Rivaille hummed in understanding, "No, you both were fully clothed."

A soft sigh of relief and an even softer thank you followed.

"Anybody would've done the same no reason to thank me kid," though he knew very well others could've very well just turned a blind eye just as easily, as was probably the case for him to be in that situation in such a crowded place to begin with.

"Stop calling me a kid," Green eyes focused on his own in mild irritation though the words restrained from being to rude. The guy did protect him and he wasn't the type to disrespect someone who came to his aid, but the kid thing was getting old.

"Brat."

Silence settled over them and Rivaille thought he was happy about that, so what possessed him to ask the kid his name was beyond him.

He abandoned glancing over his wrists to lift his head as high as he could with as best a smile he could muster for the situation, "Its Eren. Eren Jaeger."


	2. Chapter 2

He vaguely remembers some kind of saying. Some babble about good deeds being rewarded. Nonsense about building good karma. Reap what you sow kind of shit. Helping a near frozen male avoid possibly being hazed further or worse raped, one would think he'd be granted a reprieve. That was a nice chunk of karma had to amount to something. Chase away the evil doer, dry off the drugged rag doll of a brat, change the little shit, let him rest, 'Thank you' and 'Your welcome' now let us be on our way end of story.

End. Of. Story.

Obviously a concept lost on the brunette.

"Rivaille!"

An excited shout followed him as he picked up his pace in a vain attempt to lose the kid. The voice called for him to wait up as he chased him down and finally caught up slightly winded as Rivaille finally paused. He knew this was just one of those uphill battles he was stuck dealing with. Glancing upwards to the sky with a sigh he closed his eyes as he silently wished for whatever god should have fucking granted him his one wish of being left alone, and didn't, before settling his eyes on the slightly flushed boy at his side.

A genuine smile broke across Eren's cheeks his eyes even lighting up with it.

Ah. Rivaille thought, the cute expression made him want to gag.

"Here!"

Eren stood tall again. Taller than Rivaille himself, the shorter of the two noticed yet again just as bitterly as anytime he ran into the kid. The occurrence becoming far to frequent for him to consider being even remotely ok.

A paper cup was shoved into his hands as Eren rambled on, "I hope you like this one better. After the face you made from the last coffee I bought you I figured you'd like something a little less sweet and a bit bitter."

Eren began chuckling to himself, raising his closed fist in front of his mouth to try to hide it quite pathetically. Rivaille supposed it was probably from Eren recalling the memory of him drinking that horrendous liquid sugar cane he first offered him. The brunette wouldn't allow him to refuse the offer so he snatched the hot cup and took a large frustrated gulp. It made its way to his tongue and almost as instantaneously that it hit the organ he spat it back out across the street.

Reluctant to accept but not willing to deal with Eren's constant nagging to take the coffee, because he already paid for it and what a waste, ended up quietly thanking him and suspiciously pulling back the lid to check its contents. The liquid was lighter than black coffee but not light enough that it looked like creamer was added. Milk perhaps? It had a distinct smell though, caramel?

"What the fuck is in this?"

Anyone else would have been offended. A kind offer of coffee, paid out of their own pocket, met with a suspicion and attitude, would have anyone else telling him to fuck himself, or at the very least take it away from him, throw it out, something along those lines. Instead, the brat just smirked as if he found the colorful question endearing.

"Salted Caramel coffee," a small pause before he added for good measure, "Just one pump of syrup. Shouldn't be too sweet."

Another sigh and he capped the beverage before hesitantly taking a sip. Surprisingly it wasn't too sweet, nor was it to bitter. He wouldn't have thought of salt to go with sweets. At least not unless you were baking and you wouldn't taste the mineral in most cases anyway. This time he took a more appreciative sip. He hummed his approval, taking another larger sip before muttering a 'Not bad' under his breath and started walking again, his intention to do so with or without Eren. Not really carrying whether it was rude considering Eren very person who brought the coffee in the first place. The kid fell into step next to him with a rather goofy looking grin of satisfaction.  
"Not bad, huh."

Rivaille's eyes narrowed as he glare at Eren, "Don't get cocky brat."

His case not very convincing once he brought the salted caramel beverage back to his lips for another taste. Eren's grin only got impossibly wider before he tried to hide it behind his own drink.

The rest of the walk was in relative silence. Every so often a sight would remind Eren of a story and he would start most of them off with a chuckle and a distant glint of the usually happy memories in his eyes. As they reached where they would part ways Eren's cheery goodbye and a promise to see him again tomorrow was rewarded with nothing more than a halfhearted backwards wave and a 'as if I have a choice brat'.

Regardless of how many times he just brushed the kid off he would always be there the very next day, just as eager to share the brief walk together, as if they were the best friends in the world. As if Rivaille himself actually participated in the one-sided conversations with more than just a grunt or hum of acknowledgement.

Ever since that fateful night; as Eren would put it in his horribly misguided romanticism; he had been stuck with the brunette attached to his hip. He was sure Hanji wasn't at all innocent in this. How else would the kid know what time and path he walked to work? At least he could be grateful that kid wouldn't show up at his job. He had a sneaking suspicion, other than the fact he was a brat that he was younger than him and thus unable to get into the 21 and over bar where he is employed. Though, he never really did get the kid's actual age. The thought of him being some 15 year old pup made him cringe. Oh what the bullshit he'd have to hear from his co-workers if he had such a pup nipping at his heels. Not. Fucking. Cool. At least that night some questions were answered; though he wasn't sure he could be so relieved at them. Rather so, he felt more bothered by what troublesome nonsense came along with the few facts.

"The kid in my bed right now is Eren Jaegar," Hanji slapped a hand down her face, "Fucking Christ. I knew he was here but…. Well at least I know where his place is."

Rivaille nodded dutifully, "I see. I'll leave you to it then."

"Woah. Woah, not so fast! I can't take him there myself!"

A grin covered what discomfort she should be feeling at the uninterested glare that scrutinized her.

"Not my problem. Your guest," he tried to turn to leave.

A hand wound around his wrist and it was at this point that hell fire could've erupted in her living room at any moment. Even so the clueless shit for brains just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly formulating a response.

"Well, yeah sure my party, my guest, but…," Hanji just grinned, "I didn't really bear witness to what happened and I'm sure his sister's going to be worried and want a little run down. You know, just a here's your brother, nothing bad actually happened, here you go make sure he drinks plenty of water kinda thing. Sides he doesn't actually know me personally and he might be shaken up still. He seems fond of you, no sense in making the poor guy more uncomfortable than he already is."

His eyes narrowed to slits and his teeth ground out his words.

"I'm not going to drop this kid off with a casual report to his parents about the kid nearly getting a dick up his ass. Don't worry sir. I came in before that happened so your son will have no problems taking a morning shit when he wakes up."

"Well, you don't have to go into that little detail," she smiled this time but it flattered momentarily, "You won't have to worry about his parents anyway. His sister will be the only one home."

He felt a bit uncomfortable at that and he knew he didn't want to hear about it any further. Before she could fill him in he raised her hand to silence her and started up stairs.

"You owe me."

The car ride was awkward. Eren's mouth clapped nosily. More than likely from a dry throat. He hadn't thought to bring a bottle of water so the kid would just have to wait. He didn't have to worry about Eren remaining attentive during the small trip due to his GPS. He had never been so grateful for it. It saved him from having to speak or potentially risk starting an unnecessary conversation. He just wanted to wash his hands clean of this as soon as possible; figuratively and literally. Despite his earlier shower, and the raw skin on his back from scrubbing, he still felt dirty. Too many people had casually made contact to his skin, and even just where hands or fingers brushed against his shirt felt itchy. He couldn't stand when people touched him during their piss poor attempts at striking a conversation. Animatedly waving their hands around and deciding 'here my contact will transfer what you should be feeling at this moment'. Spit out a punch line? Let me touch your shoulder to let you know you should be laughing. Bark out laughter? Let me grab you hand because oh my god we can't contain the funny, laugh with me!

The fuck.

Finally pulling into the parking lot, he turned to fact Eren, "Ok. You're home. Get out."

Silence.

Scratch that; silence now broken by a snore.

Grumbling he turned off the car and had a brief moment of temptation to see if he could shake the steering wheel loose from its column and throw it into the windshield. Far too much of a mess, he decided against it. Stepping to the other side of his vehicle he opened the door to see the kid hadn't budged an inch. Just how would he have to go about this? Biting the inside of his cheek he fought back a whine of aggravation. He did not whine. He would not whine.

But he fucking wanted to.

He had to lean over Eren to unbuckle the seat belt. Which embarrassingly enough took a couple attempts due to Eren's apparently liquid form, which would not stay fucking put. Succeeding he was left with the next order of business. How exactly would he have to carry this brat? He wasn't worried about his weight, but the height difference. It would be a pain for him to both find a comfortable position to lift the kid, stand up and properly maneuver him out of his car without slamming their heads or limbs against the frame.

Dread. Absolute horrific mortifying, human contact was inevitable.

"Shit," he silently cursed before letting out a huge breath of air from his lungs.

"Fine."

With wavering determination he choose to loop Eren's arms around his neck and hold his head upright with his hand, the arm supporting him under his armpit and across his shoulder blade. With that he wouldn't have to worry about the mutants long neck swinging his head into the door when he lifted the kid out.

"Rivaille…"

A hot puff of air ran over his neck as Eren's head plopped onto his shoulder, his name muttered against his skin. He was raising his right hand to slap the kid before he even knew what he was doing but stopped short when he saw the relieved expression on the sleeping features before him. He tsk'd as he dropped his hand deciding this time he'd let the kid off easy. Looping his right arm under Eren's legs he carefully pulled him out of the car before kicking the door shut behind him.

Despite his confidence in his own strength he frowned at how off he was about Eren's weight. He was heavier than he looked and he didn't feel nearly as boney in his arms as he would have presumed by looking at him. All that aside…

He glared at the doorbell on the left hand side of the door. On the left, where he had no chance of reaching out to press it. He couldn't very well knock either. This was a problem. Kick the door. That was a solution. It wasn't an acceptable solution though, considering his boots were dirty and the door was a perfect glossy shade of pure white. His brow twitch. Kick the door, dump the brat… clean the door. That could be acceptable. Assuming his sister would grant him the cleaning product and paper towels necessary to do just that. Ah… but what if he kicked it too hard and scuffed it? Did they have extra paint? Perhaps kicking the door wasn't a practical option at all.

Just around the time he was considering using his head as a door knocker the door was ripped open to reveal a very irate girl. Rivaille let his eyes scan their way to her face and he immediately thought of every possible way to kill Hanji.

"Mikasa."

The impassive tone was shadowed by a dark grit of an insult, "What have you done with my brother you vertically challenged bastard."

"Good to see you still have a charming way with words. Now, would you step aside so I can re-gift you with this sack of shit? Apologies for not remembering to dress him up with a bow."

She stepped aside so he could step into the home and simply raised a brow when she moved no further, "Would you be so kind to direct me to his room or would you rather I drop him right here on the floor?"

She tightened his fists but none the less guided him to the room, "What happened?"

"Hanji. Party. Someone tried to take your brother's ability to shit for a few days, but no worries I caught him before he could do just that. He'll have no irritation clearing his bowels."

She watched as Rivaille set the boy down digesting that horrible explanation but accepting. Once Eren was under his covers he looked down at the boy glad he was still sleeping through the exchange. He wasn't sure exactly why but he reached down to ruffle the kid's hair gently enough no to stir him and turned on his heel to leave.

"Well it's been fun."

Mikasa called out to him as he opened the door, "I'm grateful you protected Eren, but from now on it's unnecessary for him to have any further contact with you."

Rivaille scoffed in disbelief and sarcastically replied, "You're welcome. I hadn't planned on it."

Before he closed the door he suddenly remembered Hanji's obvious direction.

"Make sure the brat gets plenty of water."

It really wasn't needed, the way she bristled at the direction as if she needed to be told was worth it.

"Coffee again huh? Tips must be really nice for you to afford a cup every time you come in," his co-worker, who unfortunately was never intimidated by him, noted.

"It's not coming out of my tips."

As he hung his jacket in his locker he shot a sideways glance at the now quiet male, who had a thoughtful look on his face.

"What," he ground out annoyed to be stared at like that.

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering who the lucky one is."

At his questioning glare the other waved him off.  
"You see, making a face like that makes it hard to get someone willing to treat you with such a kind reoccurring gesture."

Arms rested on his shoulders and he had to hold back a growl, "Now who would be lucky enough that you be willing to accept these frequent little gifts, hm?"

Rivaille slapped his arms off and shut his locker tossing the remaining coffee into the trash can on his way out, "He's none of your business, time to work."

"He huh," the other mused but followed the other out to start their shift. He was sure Rivaille didn't mean to let that little detail slip but it would be fun to see how long this tough guy would last against Rivaille. He wasn't exactly the most approachable person after all.


	3. Chapter 3

"Eren," the voice was commanding like a mother's would be, "I don't want you around him."

"Ok."

And just like a mother's orders, as anyone around his age would most likely do, he agreed but ignored them completely.

"I mean it Eren, I don't like him. I know he did well in protecting you but…"

Cutting her off was the only way he had a hope of leaving the house. Slipping on his shoes and tugging on his light jacket a little rougher than necessary he sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. He rubs you the wrong way. You think he's just an anti-social irate shorty, I get it Mikasa, really. Its fine, I won't hang out with him alright?"

The sentence left unsaid here was that Rivaille wouldn't 'let' him hang out with him just yet. So he wasn't really lying. He just was leaving out the whole walking Rivaille half way to work before they separated so he couldn't finish his route to his own job thing. That wasn't really hanging out. They were just walking to work and they happened to take the same path. Sure Eren deviated from his usual walk just a teensy bit to extend the time he would walk with Rivaille but that still didn't make it a lie.

Actually, it technically wouldn't be a lie either if he were to "happen" upon Rivaille's work place and "happen" to relax there while Rivaille "happened" to be working. He heard from Hanji that he did work at a bar slash club so it wouldn't be all that strange for him to show up one night with friends minus Mikasa of course. Sure, he still wouldn't be lying per se, he still wouldn't be hanging out with Rivaille but he didn't think she would appreciate the gaps of knowledge he was choosing to leave out nor the technicalities.

"I'm off!"

Half past the old pawn shop, a few steps in front of the seven eleven, just as the bus pulled in on time today at the bus stop across the street from the two landmarks and…..

"Hey Rivaille! Wait up!"

Right on fucking time.

He gave up on trying to duck away from the brunette. He never really succeeded in the past and the brat had gotten him horribly addicted to the nice fresh brewed hot coffee. He accepted the offered up with a mumble of a thanks before blowing on the lip and taking his first sip. Now they could both, hopefully with minimal interruption from the kid, quietly finish their way to their respective destinations. In complete, comfortable, relaxing, silence….

"Rivaille."

Fuck!

He hummed over his coffee hoping the attempted conversation would be one he could cut off short.

"You work at a bar right?"

He had to stop himself from sputtering. Seriously, was this kid stalking him now? Or was Hanji being even more of a pest as usual? If she left free his cell number or e-mail so help him god. Rather than waiting for a response Eren knew he wouldn't get and an answer he already knew he continued on.

"I was thinking of going out tonight after work," Eren said in a roundabout manner.

"If you're thinking I'll let you and your friends in you can wipe your ass of that idea."  
Eren turned his head sharply with his brow pinched, obviously confused. It took him a minute or two before the frown morphed into a lop-sided grin and laughed. The laugh a little too loud which forced Rivaille to bring his cup to his lips in a rare self-conscious embarrassment.

"No ah," Erin stifled his laughter, "We're not underage if that's what you're thinking."

As an afterthought.

"It's what's up with your obsession with shit? It never ceases to amaze me how you can symbolically or metaphorically use shit in any situation and have it make sense."

Rather than answer his question or even bother touching on the idea of Eren having a night out at his bar he chose instead to dig at the scab.

"You don't owe me anything Eren."

"I know."

Not even a second's hesitation in the immediate response. This kid was difficult.

"What I'm saying is," tactful he could be tactful, "You don't need to keep buying me coffee and walking out of your way or even trying to do whatever the hell your attempting to do by coming to my bar. There's plenty in the area that have better company and cheaper drinks, so there no point on draining your wallet with whatever the fuck nonsense idea you have rolling around in that empty skull of yours."

Yes. He was by definition a 'careful with your words' tactful man. And, apparently, Eren was the oblivious to the stink of shit under your nose kind of guy, if the small smile on his lips had anything to say about it. At the very least he looked like some of his words hit the kid a little. The small curve of his lips not exactly matching the somewhat hurt expression carried in his eyes. And the small tightening of his fingers around his coffee cup gave away that the boy could at least feel some type of aggressive thought. He was wondering how long it would be till he could actually get a rise out of this guy, so far he seemed to have a remarkable amount of patience.

"It's not to repay you," the tone tense and a pause as if Eren had to really consider why he did what he did and perhaps even just coming up with the answer on the spot, as if he never thought to reflect on it beforehand, "I… I just want to."

"Suit yourself," Rivaille grumbled taking another sip, "Just as long as you know I don't expect anything."

True to his words, Eren showed up at his bar later on that evening. He was relieved to see that Mikasa was nowhere to be found. At least the kid knew better than to bring her here. It wasn't like they were sworn enemies or anything. They had went to the same school, graduated the same year. They were both highly ranked academically and they both excelled in sports throughout their school years. Especially in High School. Some classmates even joked about how they would make the ultimate power couple and tried setting them up on a date. Within the first moment their eyes had met something sparked between them. There was an immediate connection. Something Rivaille never thought he could feel for someone at first sight, and Mikasa, he was sure shared the first shared mutual thought.

Contempt.

There really was no rationalizing it. There were just an immediate dislike for one another, and while at first it seemed childish, it was quickly affirmed between them. They were completely incompatible. They didn't like each other's mannerisms. They hated how they carried themselves, walked, talked, and joked, their approaches to problems, hell he was sure that sharing the same air caused a bristling effect.

The brunette was dressed quite nicely. A button up with the long sleeves pushed up and folded back just slightly below the elbow. A tight pair of black slacks, and a double layered vest to top it all off. Everything was form fitted, it made him look older more mature. Rivaille would be lying if he didn't say the kid looked rather attractive. Ah were those black and gray converse? Well, at least that showed a bit more of his age. Not one for dress shoes right yet.

Rivaille couldn't help but watch him mingle in the crowd. He was a bit worried. Considering the last fiasco at Hanji's house. It wasn't really any of his business, it was really just bad timing for him to get roped into all of it. He supposed he just kept a firm eye on the kid in repayment for the ungodly amount of cash the kid probably spent on his coffee every afternoon. He couldn't help the small smirk that reached his lips. He never really paid that much attention before but Eren had a really nice smile. Clean white teeth, lips not too thin. His eyes always had a glimmer of emotion in them that accented his smile. He'd make sure to pick on him for that goofy excuse of a dance routine he had going on with his friends out on the dance floor. One friend in particular, must have had a few drinks before even entering the bar, if that horrible excuse of a dip that looked more akin to a horse squatting for a dump was anything to go by. Or maybe he was just that unnatural a dancer.

He didn't realize he was staring until the horse shitter pointed in his direction and Eren's eyes followed the pointed finger to him. Rivaille schooled his expression back to neutral as the brunette waved the other off and started to the counter. Surprisingly, Eren and friends had arrived an hour ago and not once had he came over to become a nuisance. Maybe the kid was more considerate than he thought.

Reaching the counter Eren slipped his card on the bar and smiled a little too brightly, "I'm going to open a tab."

Rivaille raised his brow, "ID."

Eren laughed saying something along the lines of not believing him earlier but the music drowned it out.

"Twenty one, huh," he mused, "so you are still a fledging. What do you want."

"Service with a smile."

"Don't push your luck kid."

Eren only laughed it off, "Dare I leave it up to you?"

Rivaille couldn't help his smirk, "Only if you want to end up on the floor."

Eren grinned mischievously and Rivaille swore he made some smart ass comment along with it but it was again spoken to low against the loud speakers, "I like a strong one, but not too bitter. I want something tasty that goes down easy."

Rivaille wouldn't even deem that one with a response, though in all honesty he had to bite a few off the tip of his tongue. Busying himself he grabbed the card and opened a tab then went about making a Tokyo Tea. Setting the glass in front of the hazel eyed male he lingered long enough to see Eren take a large sip. His nose curled only slight but his smile remained none the less.

"Perfect! This is really good."

"Obviously," Rivaille thought better against it but leaned against the bar a hairs breath away from Eren anyway.

Eren flushed, his eyes widened in surprise. The kid had an imagination apparently.

"Don't set your drink down, and don't take your eyes off it till you're done with it and put it back on this counter," he tapped the wooden surface to annunciate his point, "Understand?"

Eren's flustered expression changed quickly between a warm smile and finally a goofy grin, "Yes sir," he mock saluted. His fingers brushed Rivaille's bangs, just now alerting him as to how close they were. Straightening back up from the bar he scoffed at the behavior and was about to turn away when a hand on his wrist stopped him. Even with Eren's taller build the kid had to set his stomach on the counter to reach him.

Once he had his attention Eren pulled back, as his did his fingers trailed along his wrist and the back of his hand. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about the tingling brought on from it.

"When is your shift over?"

He could lie and say he was on counter till close but Eren knew he worked late afternoon to early evenings. Which is the only reason why he didn't bluff his way out of it, or so he told himself.

"Ten."

He looked like he handed the kid a candy bar with the enthusiastic nod, "Ten it is then."

Before he asked what the hell he meant by that Eren was already weaving his way back over to his friends drink in hand. True to his word, he didn't let the beverage leave his sight. Off and On Rivaille found himself glancing his way just to make sure, even after coming to grab a couple more drinks he kept true to his sorry excuse of a salute.

"Ah, so that's him," his co-worker snaked his way next to him.

"Don't start."

"He's cute. It's a good thing you're keeping an eye on him."

"Yeah I kno….," he tried to stop himself but it was too late. Son of a bitch.

His co-worker only laughed and made a piss poor attempt at ruffling his hair before returning back to work.

Well this was probably going to turn out to be a long night.


	4. Chapter 4

Ten o'clock was fast approaching, and despite himself he kept actually glancing at the clock. He wasn't excited per se, maybe more along the lines of anxious, that would suffice. Eren was beginning to look a bit sloppy, his vest was unbuttoned, it was way too hot to even consider layers in such a club, his hair was disheveled from running his hands over it too much and making a piss poor attempt to ruffle it back into a resemblance of a style, his cheeks were flushed, and his movements less contained. Eren had quite a bit to drink as the night carried on, his friends even worse off than himself. The horse squatter, as Rivaille respectably dubbed the friend with the two-toned hair and horrible coordination, should've been cut off a while ago. He certainly was one of those touchy feely drunks. There had been several occasions where he felt he should intervene, though his co-worker seemed to pick up on his decision every time and quip himself with a mother hen reference. He was no fucking mother hen and he rationalized this with the fact that the boy, not too long ago mind you, nearly had his colon spackled. That response was enough to get a disgusted look that would shut the overly comfortable co-worker up, or if that particular one had failed, his numerous explanations of how uncomfortable a shit would have to be after the fact, would do the trick.

As he was switching over the last of his open tabs and cashing out the rest, he caught a glimpse of the horse squatter being too friendly. Way too friendly for him to consider comfortable. He could handle the guy hanging over Eren, they were friends, and friend's got shitty and used each other to steady themselves or too engage someone into their slurred conversations. That was fine, that was somewhat normal for most people. He saw this type of behavior all the time. What he didn't appreciate was horse squatter's hand squeezing Eren's hip to get his attention when a shoulder would've been more than acceptable. Or the way he danced a bit too close to Eren, joking or not. He didn't like that this guy, rather than speak at a comfortable distance, would wrap his arm around Eren's shoulder and lean into his ear when he spoke. Eren would just swat him away, sometimes looking a bit annoyed, other times looking like he was used to it. He wasn't sure which of those bothered him more. He knew he didn't like the guy's grin, didn't like the touching, he hated the dancing, and didn't like the…. Did he just fucking kiss his neck? He watched Eren push him away with a laugh, even so, he did little to school the disgusted look off his face or to hide the fact he was scrubbing the offending area of his neck with the back of his hand.

Oh would you look at that. Ten on the dot.

"Go easy on him!"

He waved backwards as he exited the counter completely ignoring his co-worker. He made his way over to Eren and his friends, suddenly regretting the decision. Wasn't this just bad timing on his part beforehand? Did he really want to get himself further involved? It wasn't like he had any obligation to protect the kid. Though it would be really obnoxious to get a visit from Mikasa the following morning if anything were to happen to her precious little brother, he was convinced she might have a complex.

"Reeee-veeeeeee," Eren wrapped an arm around his shoulder, ignorant of the glare his limb was receiving.

Rivaille felt his raised brow twitching as he glared over at the brunette. Eren had known better than to make casual contact like this. Drunk Eren, not so much. Though he let it go for now, the moron probably wouldn't catch a ball to the head in his stupor. To his surprise, when Eren spoke again it wasn't nearly as ridiculous as the horribly pronounced broken version of his name.

"Guys this is Rivaille, Rivaille these are my friends," he leaned down a tiny bit to be a little closer to Rivaille's ear so he didn't have to shout and pointed and named his friends one by one. There was a blonde named Annie, who he noticed throughout the night, thus far, was much more reserved than the others but would still smirk or tease the group. At one point, he remembered the horse squatter getting a little close to her too, but a hard pinch, which she held onto for much longer than necessary, even if it was punishment for him trying to cozy up, on his ass sent him scrambling away with wet eyes and hiding behind Eren. It was a pretty humorous scene watching the accusing finger point in her direction and Eren, from the look on his face, seemed to have little to no sympathy in his plea. That scene alone gained his approval.

Eren than pointed out Connie and Sasha, whom Rivaille felt were the most shameless aside from the obvious, but he could see where their antics would be a lot of fun for most. Rivaille, himself, just felt the two would get into unnecessary trouble and despite their award-winning comedic routines, he couldn't see himself willing to befriend them personally.

Last but not least came the horse who dumped. His name turned out to be Jean. He was loud, he was cocky, and from his display throughout the night thus far, not one of Rivaille's favorite people at the moment, if the unimpressed glare he had sharpened had anything to say about it. Much like Eren and his coworker, however, the kid remained completely unaware of this fact and even tried to shake his hand.

He was grateful that Eren, himself, took the initiative to brush the hand away, telling Jean his hands were filthy and no one in their right mind would want to touch them. Jean had huffed but none the less threw his arms in the air and walked toward the bathroom.

"Fine, fine, I'm gonna take-a leak then, I'll be sure to scrub em real clean for ya!"

Eren's sigh brushed against his ear, reminding him for the second time that night how close the kid got to him without him realizing.

"Sorry about him, he's really a good guy, a total ass though."

"Hadn't noticed," he replied sarcastically earning him a small chuckle. After the brief introduction and a few words between all of them, he finally flicked the arm draped over his shoulders. Eren owlishly blinked at him and it was all he could do not to aim the next flick at the tip of his nose.

"You get a little too comfortable with a few drinks brat."

"Well sure," he agreed carefully as his eyes wandered with the thought before settling back on him, "But you didn't seem upset by it. So I figured you didn't really mind."

He wasn't expecting such a quick response, and he was a bit aggravated he didn't have anything to come back with. Why the hell had he allow that arm on his shoulder for so long. He clicked his tongue in annoyance but was happy to note that Eren pulled his arm away anyway.

"I need a drink," Rivaille excused himself but noted, as he walked to the bar. Eren had done the same and was now trailing behind him. As soon as they hit the bar they downed a couple lemon shots, on the third Rivaille discreetly motioned for Eren's to be lemon water. He knew Eren was drunk enough that he wouldn't notice, and of course the water wasn't added to the tab. It was a little system at the bar they worked at, it was easier that way, especially with drunks. Not that Eren was that bad off just yet but Rivaille would be damned if he would get to the point while he was around. It was an easy to read system he and his fellow co-workers developed. If you put three fingers down, it meant water, whatever flavor matched the shot. Of course this didn't work on all shots, but not everyone was willing to down JD and SOCO by the shot throughout the entire night.

"That went down surprisingly easy," Eren frowned.

"If you can't taste the liquor any more than you should probably call it quits for a while kid," Rivaille commented dryly without any indication of his deceit. There was no way in hell he was going to have to worry about the brat vomiting or falling all over the place. Though, he had to admit, considering how much he drank, Eren was handling the drinks fairly well. He wasn't a slurring mess, save for that horrible nickname earlier. His eyes were still open and alert, he didn't look too flushed, perhaps a little red at the tips of his ears and a slight blush on his cheeks but nothing visible otherwise. The only real indication that he was drunk was in his over exaggerated facial expressions, and his cockiness. The kid was already forward enough, but now, on top of not knowing when to quit, he was seeking to push the boundaries of casual physical contact.

As he was doing just now.

"Maaaaaaaah," he whined, "Fine, fine. No more shots for now, but let's dance ok?"

While a piss poor attempt at a polite invitation, Eren didn't hesitate to grab his wrist and pull him into the crowd. Had it been anyone else he swore he would've twisted his wrist loose and bent his fucking thumb back hard enough to either put him on the ground in an apologizing mess, if he was smart, or resist it and end up with a broken thumb. The temptation was still there, of course. He didn't appreciate being pulled along without any word of consent on his part. The brat more or less decided for him that they were dancing before tugging him along.

He was brought out of his musings as Eren stopped and turned to face him with a sheepish grin, before grabbing his hand and letting the hand previously holding his wrists to travel to the others finger tips before twirling, fucking twirling, Rivaille around, spinning him to a stop. Not expecting the jerking motion he stumbled with it and ended up with his back flush against Eren's. The hand that held his now lay across his chest, close to his shoulder, and the other with the looser grip now pulled their arms around his torso. He felt Eren chuckle before spinning him back and dipping him. Rivaille, finding he couldn't very well hit the man supporting his weight, just yet, put up with this charade for the moment.

"I swear to god Eren… The second I'm back on my feet, I'm shoving my foot so far up your ass you'll vomit shit for a week."

Despite the death glare, and the less than ideal image of the other male's foot up his ass, Eren couldn't help but laugh with a wide smile on his face.

"You'll never cease to impress me with your verbiage on the topic of shit."

The glare only narrowed and Eren must've seen it fit to keep his head on his shoulders and not kicked across the room. He let Rivaille back to his feet, but not before dipping forward in another chuckle. The warm breath was too close his neck, as soon as he was on his feet he rubbed at the area trying to rid himself of the odd feeling, and refocused his glare. Eren backed away a step with his hands up in a mock surrender, his laughter yet to have died out.

"You look like you're about to kill me Ree-vee."

Oh he was really pushing it.

"The thought had crossed my mind," he admitted a bit annoyed, but somewhat playfully, "And stop calling me that ya shitty brat."

The laugher died off when an arm draped over Eren's shoulder and another circled his waist. Jean's head plopped down on his shoulder, eyes a bit droopy, and cheeks burning brighter than Eren's.

"You'rall cozy with this guy eh Jaegar? Whas the deal I've never seen em' around."

Eren looked a bit uncomfortable but never the less patted his friends arm and turned his head, trying pull his neck as far away as he could so their faces were as distant as physically possible.

"Don't worry about it," Eren's brow furrowed, "You're cut off man. You're way too fucked."

"M'not," Jean challenged as he turned his attention to Eren. Rivaille watched as Eren squirmed to get his face a little further apart from the other. He had to admit this Jean guy was not his favorite person at the moment, not that he was before either.

"Unless tha's an offer," Jean laughed, rubbing at the brunette's chest suggestively as he squeezed his hip with his other hand.

Eren's face took on more shades of red than either Rivaille or he thought possible. Eren tugged the arm off his waist as he looked from Jean to Rivaille in a mild panic. Jean was just way to drunk, and Rivaille, well, he looked like he just needed an excuse to knock someone out, and Jean was certainly providing a laundry list of reasons right now. On top of that he didn't want Rivaille to get the wrong idea either. He had come to respect the man a lot, and regardless of his lack of enthusiasm he received, Rivaille begrudged or not allowed him to stay in his presence. In truth, the brunette just wanted to get closer to him ever since that night, whatever level Rivaille would allow, and Jean of all people was NOT going to fuck that up for him.

Before Eren could turn to tell Jean off, Rivaille had already taken a step forward and grabbed Jean's wrist. In the blink of an eye Jean was on his knees with his arm chicken winged behind his back, Rivaille pinching his wrist at an odd angle.

"I think that's enough out of you."

Sobering up a bit from the sudden jolt of pain in his elbow and shoulder Jean all but yelped and shouted back to the older male.

"GOD FUCKING DAMMIT! THE FUCK MAN! I was fucking…. Fuck… Let the fuck go, I was joking around!"

Eren gaped only for a second before stepping between the two. He pushed Jean's arm down a little to try to give him a little relief and gently placed a hand on Rivaille's forearm.

"Rivaille, its fine really, he didn't mean anything by it," Eren rushed out, "It's alright, I was just surprised that's all."

Rivaille made a noise, akin to a growl, in the back of his throat but released the boy and kicked him forward for good measure. Jean stumbled forward but caught himself before ending up flat on his face. Eren wasted no time in helping Jean up but the former wasn't having it. He jerked Eren's arm off of him before stalking forward and grabbing Rivaille by the front of his shirt.

"What is your fucking problem with me midget?"

"I would think it would be fairly obvious even to someone as dense as you," Rivaille countered without the bat of an eye. His nonchalance only made the situation worse, escalating both parties tension even higher, as they faced each other down.

Eren was completely mortified. At this point his other friends took notice. Thankfully, they started to make their way through the room to get to them. Relief came far too soon as he heard Jean throw another insult before raising his fist to strike. The brunette didn't even have a chance to move as, in one fluid motion, Rivaille knocked away the fist to the side with his left. Taking advantage of Jean's loss of balance he stepped sideways and forward before kicking his foot backwards behind Jean's knee, simultaneously using the hand that deflected the punch to grab his wrist and his right to thrust forward with an open palm into his chest. Jean was thrown backwards and hit the floor hard on his back before Eren could even blink.

"Holy shit."

Sasha stopped short with her mouth hung open, looking from Rivaille to Jean trying to somehow make sense of what just happened. Connie quickly ran behind Jean and lifted him up from under his arms. He was only in a daze for a minute or so before Jean coughed violently and tried to center his shaky vision on the male in front of him. He made a sad attempt to lunge forward but Sasha and Connie held him back and tried to talk him down. Eren to joined them, trying to calm the raging man.

Rivaille decided then, he was fucking done with this shit. He didn't even really know why he was so angry. Short crack aside, he knew he was making Eren uncomfortable all night but he wasn't really a threat. There really was no reason for him to get so agitated, but he was, he couldn't deny that. He needed to clear his head. He needed to go home and drink that damned peach tea. Peach tea, his couch, and a blanket sounded fucking wonderful right now. Without further ado he did just that. He turned on his heel and headed to the door. Jean be damned. Eren be damned. It was unnecessary stress. He didn't even bother to go back to get his jacket, he just pat his back pocket to make sure his house keep was still there.

The second he was outside he breathed a sigh of relief. The temperature dropped quite a bit but the chill was more than welcome. He took in a deep breath of the cold air and felt it prickle at his lungs before releasing it. He still couldn't, for the life of him, understand why he lost his temper so quickly, and it was driving him mad that he couldn't just let it go. He kept thinking about it. He didn't want to think or have to deal with it. He didn't want to remember Jean touching Eren. Didn't want to think about how uncomfortable and flustered the brat had gotten. Not the way his brows furrowed, or how his eyes flashed by the abashment he felt, his lips turning downward, or the harsh tone of his voice. He especially didn't want to recall Eren standing up for the piece of horse shit or how quickly he ran over after he was flustered enough to try to lunge at him a second time. Anyone who was put down so fast had to be a real moron to even attempt it again. Granted, the guy was drunk, but he was sure he was a special kind of stupid.

He wouldn't have to deal with any of this shit if Eren wasn't stupid enough to keep gropers in his company. To hell with the coffee and walks, he should have never even acknowledged the kid in the first place. Now the brat was following him like a god damned puppy.

"Rivaille!"

Speak of the fucking devil. He picked up his pace a little, but he hadn't expected Eren to break out into a full run. Maybe he should've have him drink those other shots after all. The second he felt Eren put a hand on his shoulder to stop him, Rivaille rotated his body grabbing Eren's wrist and shoved him into the nearest building with his forearm against the kid's neck, effectively pinning him against the wall.

"Quit following me around," he hissed.

Eren's eyes were wide, his breath haggard as the arm pushed against his throat uncomfortably.

"R-Rivaill… Le… go….yo..r…scaring me," he coughed out as best he could, afraid to reach for the arm at his neck.

Rivaille visibly flinched, releasing him like he was burned. Much weaker he commanded Eren to go back to his friends, but the male was stubborn. Not daring to walk up to his side, the brunette settled for tailing a several steps behind him. Rivaille ground his teeth as he heard the foot steps behind him, hoping if he kept at his pace eventually the kid would give up. He knew he was being too optimistic. The kid that day after day brought him a cup of coffee and chased him down, insisting he accept the offer, wasn't going to just walk away. He was sure the kid would follow him across the city, but he didn't know why. Why was he so attached to him? Why was he so persistent? A simple thank you and he could've been on his way, even if he did literally save his ass, why go so far? Why bother when it was obvious that it was not appreciated from the get go? He stopped, his blood pressure was surely through the roof, and it didn't help that Eren's steps stopped along with his. He turned, turned and stared long and hard at Eren. He was fidgeting, his eyes were shying from his, looking at the ground, looking at his feet, biting his lip, opening and closing his mouth as if to speak before shutting it. It was pissing him off. It was pissing him off because it wasn't the stubborn cocky prick that chased him down the street. This timid wandering eyed brat was not the defiant little shit that followed him around everywhere. And the reason he was acting like this now was because of him, and that revelation just made him angrier.

"Why, why are you still following me? So what, I fucking scared off some asshole for you," he stepped closer and Eren bowed his head nervously. When Eren didn't answer, didn't even try to look at him he reached forward, grabbing his chin, he pulled it up to meet his eyes.

"This isn't Disney kid. I'm not some knight in fucking armor or prince charming for that matter. I just happened to be there, that's all. What the hell else more do you want from me?"

Eren's eyes were tearing at the corners, his jaw gripped too tightly in Rivaille's hand and his frustration was getting the best of him. He smacked Rivaille's hand away and caressed his aching jaw. His lip quivered as he spoke, he was frustrated, frightened, and most of all angry.

"I don't expect you to be anything you're not, Ok?! I just wanted to get closer to you, that's all!"

"Close to me," Rivaille snapped incredulously then scoffed.

"Jean seemed plenty close enough to you, I truly doubt you need anymore 'friends' you can get close to."

"That's not," Eren started, but stopped at the rise in his voice. He ran a hand through his hair and cast his eyes sideways, "Jean's just trashed. He's not… We're not like that," he amended.

"I couldn't care less if you were."

"Then why are you getting so bent out of shape about it?"

Rivaille opened his mouth but immediately snapped it shut. What the hell was he getting himself into?

"Everything was going fine up until Jean," Eren pointed out, but it was mostly thinking out loud. It was then that his eyes lit up like he had it all figured out and Rivaille's gut tightened at the look shot at him. Eren's lips twitched into an unnerving grin, a couple rounds of bitter laughter hitting his ears.

"Is this because you think I'm gay? That I'm following you around to get into your pants?"

Now where the hell did he draw that conclusion?

"Rivaille. I'm not following you around just to sniff your ass, the fuck. I told you, I fucking told you. I just wanted to get to know you. Jesus, fuck. I just," a whine made its way from his throat and he had to look up the stop himself from crying. Not because he was sad, just because he was so god damned frustrated. The night wasn't supposed to turn out like this. They weren't supposed to be fighting. They were supposed to drink and dance and have a good fucking time, go home and at worst wake up the next morning with hangovers.

Rivaille pinched between his eyes and took a deep breath, "Don't put words in my mouth. I could give a shit less if you were gay or not."

He was going to hate himself later on for this. He was going to regret it, but he would regret his decision either way so he had to just pick an option and deal with it.

"Why else would it have been that bothered you? You only got upset after Jean got to handsy."

"Look brat," He was trying so hard not to raise his voice again.

"Homo or Hetero or whatever, however the hell you want to define the twitch between your legs as, I'd be a hypocrite to judge. I don't believe in the ludicrous idea that a person can only fall for a specific gender alright? You like who you like, you fall in love with whomever you fall in love with, be it girl, boy, or a walking piece of shit I don't care. So no, Eren, I don't care if you're gay, straight, bisexual, whatever."

Eren took a minute to process, nodding to himself a couple times before setting his eyes back on him.

"So it wouldn't bother you if I was gay?"

"Congrat-u-fucking-lations Jaegar, you can comprehend english."

Eren frowned but chose to ignore the sassy remark.

"Do you really hate my company that much then?"

He didn't answer that. He couldn't answer that. Because truthfully, he didn't mind Eren. He minded very fucking much that the brat was a magnet for all things obnoxious and irksome but he didn't actually mind Eren. He was just pissed, and he was even more upset with himself.

"You're annoying."

"That's not what I asked."

"You'll just follow me either way," he reasoned.

"I'll stop."

At this point Rivaille focused on Eren. His face fell again, he was gnawing at his lip and looking off to the side, probably afraid if Rivaille were to tell him to do just that. To stop. Enough with this false Idol bullshit, just fucking stop. He wouldn't have to deal with the kid's non-sense or the stress he seemed to induce. Nor would he have to listen to his co-worker teasing him every time he came in with a cup of joe in his hands. He wouldn't have to worry about dealing with a pissed off girl with a brother complex, or friends who apparently needed to jerk off more to keep their hormones in check. He wouldn't have to worry anymore, Eren wouldn't be his responsibility like he seemed to becoming. He could go back to his normal routine, back to the way things were before all this ridiculousness. It was settled then.

"You're a nuisance, a complete pain in my ass. And I swear you're the type of guy who takes a long shit after he takes a shower, gross."

Eren cringed and didn't dare to make eye contact. He was getting completely rejected. He was going to be sent home with his tail between his legs, looking like a complete fool. He knew, but he wasn't prepared for it. Even when he said he's stop, he truly didn't want to. He was fond of Rivaille, not just because of him "saving the day", he genuinely was intrigued. Aloof or not he was fascinating and Eren for whatever ungodly reason, masochistic or not, wanted to be recognized by his grey eyed savior. As a friend, as a mentor, dare he say, after he got to know him better, something even more? He didn't reject any of those roles in his head, any of them would've suited him fine.

He head a tsk and foot steps leading away from him and his heart felt like it was crushed. He was rooted in place completely still, listening intently on the footsteps falling upon the paved sidewalk. Listening for each tap to verify if it was truly getting softer, and begging for those steps instead to get louder as they approached him. But they didn't, they were softer, lighter, and the sound stopped. Just like that the sound was gone. So that was his answer? This is what he wants.

"I'm not waiting all night. Are you going to follow me or not brat."

The voice was loud, coming from further up the street. Eren's head shot up at the voice and blanched. All he could muster was a very intelligent 'what?' before Rivaille rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"It's cold and I want some fucking tea are you joining me or not Jaegar?"

He nodded, though he wasn't sure if Rivaille could tell or not. When he finally made it in front of him, which seemed so much further than it really was, he spoke up softly unsure of himself.

"You don't mind."

"I'm not going to repeat myself," Rivaille muttered but gently grabbed hold of his wrist and began to lead him towards his place. It was silent for a long while. Each left to their own thoughts and they both listened to the sound of their feet against the ground and the warmth from where they connected.

"I'm sorry."

Eren looked shocked, and he sincerely was at the abrupt apology that cut through the quiet night. He felt himself smile though, looking fondly at the hand that held his wrist and lead him forward.

"Yeah… Me too."


	5. Chapter 5

Rivaille handed the brunette, currently fidgeting on his couch in the living room, a mug with steaming hot tea. Eren was nervous, he could tell. Whether it was from the confrontation, the events that had transpired tonight, or whatever else was roaming through the brat's brain he wasn't sure. He had a sadistic urge to sit right next to him, just to see the momentary panic he was sure will filter over his features, but he refrained. Ultimately he sat down on the recliner at an angle next to the sofa. Eren had at some point, catching on that he should thank him for the offered tea, stumbled out his thanks and immediately pressed the hot cup to his lips and tilting the cup.

"S-Shii..!"

The curse was covered up as Rivaille watched, with a roll of his eyes, Eren fanning off his lip while clumsily setting down the cup on the coffee table in front of him. Rivaille knew better than to tease him, at least for now. As much as the nervous, blubbering turd was entertaining, it still didn't quite sit well for him that Eren was so jittery, at least not tonight. Emotions this evening had escalated and tapered off more than he felt comfortable with. He hated to admit it but it was mostly Eren's doing. He usually always kept a level head, short of short jokes, but even then the beating the clown received would be…. Therapeutic? It's not like he saw red like he had with Jean, just him giving in to a tiny sliver of annoyance. Hardly him losing it.

"Do I make you uncomfortable now?"

The question was abrupt in the silence of the room, and Eren stopped his flapping hand, mid-fan, before mouth open and wide eyed surprise glanced over to Levi.

"Huh?"

This kid…

"Are you _uncomfortable_ with me?"

"Uncomfortable… with you," Eren's already blushed cheeks grew darker and Rivaille had to summon all the patience he handle left not to slam the mug in his hand over the kid's head. How hard was it to answer a simple question?

"What the hell are you blushing about Jaeger?"

Like a deer caught in headlights Eren froze. It was comical, almost, just a bit. Once his motor functions apparently caught up, with whatever short circuit there was in his head, his mouth instantly clamped shut and he sat up straight.

"I…. Uh… Nothing just…Too much to drink, you know?"

Ah. Did he think that was a passable excuse? Like he would buy that shit, but he let it slide and instead waited patiently for Eren to continue. He wasn't about to ask the same question again, for what, the third, fourth, trillionth time? There was a pregnant pause but eventually Eren's wandering eyes caught his waning grey and Rivaille could almost hear the shout of halle-fucking-luiah in his head.

"Oh! I… well I guess it's because I'm at your place," Eren worded ever so elegantly, even more so when he rushed out an 'Ah, and your home is very lovely' at Rivaille's expectant expression.

Not exactly what he was looking for.

"Ah. So my house evokes the nervousness of a reluctant virgin?"

"It huh? What? Wha… No why would? I-I'm not even a virgin!"

"The more we know," Rivaille mused as he took another sip of his tea.

Eren looked a bit crestfallen as he paused and a short silence hung over them again. Some time went by as they sipped at their teas. Rivaille more than content with leaning back in his recliner trying unwind from the day's events. His shoulders ached and he thought perhaps a hot bath would sooth them, only problem being Eren was here with him. Why did he even bother bringing him along anyway? He had every reason not to, or so he thought. Was it just on a whim?

"So are you….," Eren's question died off. His voice evidence enough that he was already uncomfortable asking. It wasn't hard to guess at where he was going with it, not with what they spoke about earlier. But why was that even bothering him? And did he really think he would indulge Eren so easily? Of course not, now he was just asking to be fucked with.

"Am I? What a virgin?"

Eren's face turned almost impossibly bright as he sputtered out a denial.

"No, I-I mean I wouldn't think you would be."

"So I'm easy," Rivaille arched a brow taking a sip of his mug to hide his growing smirk.

"No! That's not what I'm…," a loud sigh.

Eren lifted his hand to his mouth and bit on the skin under his thumb, an odd habit the brat seemed to have that would help him calm down whenever he got flustered. Rivaille glanced at the hand as it feel from his mouth, indents of teeth marred the skin but didn't break it. He shifted in his chair a bit as those indentations had funny ideas coming into his head. Something akin to how those marks would look elsewhere, like arms, neck, stomach, thighs, him…

He set his own tea down, a little harder than necessary which startled Eren, he muttered that he hadn't meant to and looked anywhere but Eren's hand. He would be damned this think of this kid like that after he found him the way he did that night. He wasn't some creep, and he certainly didn't bring a still semi-drunk Eren home with him for any of those reasons.

"Are you gay?"

Well fuck this night.

"I don't personally believe in labeling sexuality."

"So you do or don't like guys."

Hm. It seemed Eren had discovered his courage once again.

"At what point in the last few minutes did you visit Oz to gain your courage."

Eren bewildered at first just chuckled while sheepishly rubbing his neck, "I'm still a little uncomfortable admittedly, but not with you. Just…"

"Why the sudden interest?"

"Sudden interest," Eren mimed in a question.

"If you repeat what I say one more time I'm kicking you out. Think Jaegar, then speak."

Eren frowned but nodded anyway, "I'm just curious."

"Curious?"

"Now you're doing it."

"I never said I couldn't," Rivaille challenged with a grin and Eren felt his lips twitch upwards to a smile in return.

"So…"

"So do I like guys' right? That's what you want to know?"

It was laughable how quickly the brat nodded. Rivaille was sure any stronger and his head would've snapped off from his neck, and now with the attentive straight militant posture all he needed to do was imagine some sparkles and diamonds around the kid's head.

"I'm not opposed to guys or girls for that matter. Like I said before, if that brain of yours would stop to think for once, I don't have a preference. Who I'm with depends entirely on the person, not their sex. Am I clear this time?"

"Crystal."

Rivaille reached for his cup of tea but a hand over his wrist stopped him. The fingers wrapped around it gently, and Eren was in an odd leaning position from where he stood not feet from Rivaille. When had he even gotten so close, or even up from off the couch? He felt his skin crawl with a chill that ran over his legs and arms, and he had to fight the urge not to lick his lips. He was searching Eren's green orbs for something, even a barest hint as to what the hell this brat thought he was doing. Eren brought Rivaille's captured hand to his neck then the back of his head. Guiding his fingers to enclose Rivaille's to softly hold the area between his neck and skull. Rivaille didn't move, just stared directly into green silently demanding an explanation to what the hell Eren thought he was doing. To his own shock, and Eren's delight, told by the smile growing on his lips, he didn't try to pull his hand away. He didn't even bother to inch backwards away from Eren's mouth as he inched close enough to have his lips ghost over his own as he spoke.

"And what if the person is me?"


	6. Chapter 6

"And what if the person is me?"

Eren's lips felt soft as a feather fluttering over his own as he spoke those words. The raven had to muster what little of his shattering will power he had left not to press his lips forward. Worse even, Eren kept his distance, eyes focused onto the now half-lidded grey orbs of the older male, and he couldn't help but feel like it was a challenge. He was teasing him, waiting for his reaction. Rivaille had to suppress the shiver that threatened to traverse through his body from the minimal contact. Tiny goose bumps prickled the skin of his neck, which Eren's flickering gaze noticed immediately. Eren's own fingers scantily stroked the expanse of slightly textured skin, relishing how the invisible hairs stood on end after he touched them. Rivaille's fingers curled just enough to lightly caress Eren's scalp and the base of his neck, wanting to excite the same reaction. He could feel the slight tickle of each strand gliding over his fingers as he drew his hand back to the brunette's neck before returning it to the back of his head.  
His mind was silent and still. The suspense of physical contact dulling his rationale. His senses were kicking into overdrive, whether it be from how Eren's tepidness abruptly switched over to the more direct confident brat or the alcohol that still lingered in his system, they were completely conquered. He found himself entangled by the aroma Eren carried, hints of cologne and faintly of perspiration, and a combination of Midori and rum on his breath. Rivaille pressed his tongue between the back of his teeth and the roof of his mouth from his desire to explore taste as well. Perhaps he did drink too much, but in retrospect they had quite a sobering walk, and they had been in his home long enough for most of the effects to fade. It was becoming increasingly difficult to deny that he was naturally reacting to their close proximity. He hated to admit such an adamant pain in his ass had ensnared him, it was only fair he return the favor.

Rivaille dipped his hand to the nape of Eren's neck, in the same motion he squeezed it he used his other hand to grab the belt of his trousers and pull him forward. Eren stumbled a little, but rather than let the clumsy kid fall, Rivaille steadied him by grabbing his hip. Eren caught the arms of the chair in his hands and a knee perched on the recliner at Rivaille's side. The raven leaned backwards just enough so they didn't bump their teeth, though the air between them didn't last long as they simultaneously inched forward to connect their lips. Eye's fluttering closed they worked their lips against each other, so naturally it could have fooled the both of them that kissing one another was well practiced. Eren's let his right hand slide up the arm holding his hip, starting at the wrist and winding up the forearm, twisting to feel the motion of both his triceps and bicep as his hand kneaded his hip just over the hem of his pants. The defined muscles flexed and retracted under his fingers and his mind wandered to imagine just how similarly each muscle on Rivaille's body would move under his touch. Their tongues soon sought past their lips. The wet muscles tracing lips, teeth, and tongue. Rivaille would nip at Eren's exposed bottom lip before licking it softly to sooth it before moving his lips over Eren's in an open kiss to trace his mouth once more.

Their breath heavy, mingled together. Rivaille could taste the rum and midori on Eren's tongue and silently promised himself to find out later how he tasted without the liquor corrupting it. To Rivaille's vexation, he found Eren had to keep himself sitting back towards his heels in order to match his height in their current position. With a lustful and frustrated growl he let his hands travel over the brunette's back. Scraping his nails across them to his sides, strong enough to receive a gasp but not enough to cause any real pain, before letting them fall open palmed flat against Eren's sides. The fabric was starting to build on his nerves almost as much as how Eren practically towered over him like this. The hands pushed down further over the muscles and hip bone, he wrapped them both around to the small of his back and returned halfway to his hips before pressing his fingers under the fabric of his pants and briefs pushing forward to grab and massage the mounds of flesh. Doing so excited a moan from Eren's mouth against his and he pulled forward forcing Eren to arch his back and press his hips against Rivaille's chest. With Eren now sitting up on his knees Rivaille kissed over the fabric of the exposed white button up, also taking his time in biting and nipping over the vests thicker material. His hands pulled apart and massaged the brunette's ass as the brat's now very noticeable erection twitched against the area just below his chest.

He knew this was getting out of hand. He knew he should stop soon, but that fucking kid just had to open his damned mouth.

"So if it's me it's OK," Eren stated amused, albeit softly and out of breath.

It was devastating to the shorter of the two that he had to look up to see Eren's face. A vest button was pinched between his teeth, pulling the fabric along with it, as he looked up. It was evident enough he was already annoyed and it certainly hadn't helped that Eren drug his fingers through his hair with a wide smile and a soft whisper of how cute he looked.

Cute.

Cute is not a word that would describe him. Cute is not a word anyone would dare describe him as, and yet lo and behold the mighty titan kneeling on his couch did dare to use that word to describe him. He dropped the button from his mouth. It's never polite to keep one waiting, and it certainly was to be honest.

"I'm contemplating whether or not to beat the shit out of you or tear this obnoxious clothing off."

Eren only laughed lightly, apparently not quite grasping the dangerous flicker of 'That wasn't a fucking joke Jaegar' flashing over Rivaille's eyes. Or if he did he was making a show of ignoring it. Either way Rivaille was all too tempted grab the brats' head in the palm of his hand and shove him off. Eren, however, beat him to the punch so to speak.

"I'm not really much of a masochist to be honest," Eren started as he unbuttoned and tossed aside the vest and set to work on the button's from his white shirt underneath from the bottom up, "And I 'Like' these clothes. You're just going to have to come up with another option."

Rivaille's brow arched, "Another option huh?"

Without warning Rivaille gave Eren's ass one more solid squeeze before grabbing either side of Eren's shirt and ripping the rest of it off. Luckily the buttons gave way rather than popping off, the article of clothing tossed to the carpet as his mouth now found bare skin. Kissing and dragging his tongue across Eren's stomach and to his side he nipped his way down to his hip, briefly following the line of tapering muscle to the hem of his pants. He felt Eren's stop himself from bucking his hips forward and grinned. Looking up to hazy green eyes he licked his lips, grin still in place.

"Then I choose to ignore your option and proceed how I damn well please brat."

The smile was long gone, replaced by a muddled look somewhere between concentration and losing composure all together. He bit his lip and swallowed, the sight of Rivaille slowly pushing his tongue to lick under the hem of clothing at his waist, causing him to bite his own hip and pray for that tongue to dive a little lower.

"Problem kid? You look like you got something to say."

Rivaille taunted him, playing the same angle Eren had been playing earlier, but he wanted something so much more intense. Wanting, not only to get a reaction, but make his skin crawl with anticipation and run his mind rampant on desire of him alone. He was so far successful by the looks of it. Eren's mouth hung open, face flushed and lips swollen. Every so often he looked ready to speak, but his mouth wouldn't form the syllables. Unlike before, when he evoked this sort of shyness that overrode his normal confident and oblivious nature, he found he rather enjoyed this method of rendering the brunette speechless. Oh, he really couldn't help himself now could he?

"Speak Jaeger. Or I'll be tempted to find another use for that mouth of yours."

Eren had broken eye contact at that moment and brought his hand up in front of his face. Hand limp at the wrist as he hid behind the back of his hand and glanced back to Rivaille then back away. Rivaille reached up and pulled his hand away bringing him to his lips. Keeping Eren's lips preoccupied he smirked into the kiss and in maneuver switched their positions to leave Eren flat on his back and Rivaille over top of him, purposefully pressed between his legs. Eren gasped at the sudden motion about to protest but it was drowned out by the moan that left him as the other took to his neck. Alternating between both gentle and rough lips, suction, and teeth. Making sure to leave a mark at the base of his neck. With the way Eren squirmed beneath him, it was easy to see his neck was sensitive. A tentative lick from his jugular to his ear lobe eliciting another low moan from the brat's mouth. His hands all the while unbuttoning and unzipping the slacks. He only stopped himself once his fingers looped under the hem of his boxer briefs, looking up in silent question. He prided himself on whatever self-control he had left, his mind clicking things into place that although they weren't necessarily drunk by any means it may very well still be fogging their judgment. When Eren bit his lip once again and nodded his head in affirmation, still to incoherent by lust to want to use words. Rivaille would certainly keep in mind that this was all he had to do to get some peace and quiet, it was a fair trade off no matter how you looked at it.

"Tell me if you change your mind."

And though he said this his mouth engulfed Eren's length the moment he pulled him free of the cotton garment. Eren, having expected slow teasing, jolted. His hips ramming forward to drive himself in Rivaille's throat, head shooting backward with a loud moan, and back arching off the recliner. He pulled Eren's lower body down with him as he sank to his knees to the floor off the recliner. The older male reaching to free himself as he swirled his tongue and sucked. Making sure not to have Eren's bucking hips catch him off guard and cause him to choke. Once he had his own erection in his hand he pumped it lazily, ears intently focusing on the lewd sounds echoing from Eren's throat. His free hand cupped Eren's testicles in such a way that allow him to grab and stroke the amount of length he began to fall short of with his mouth. Kneading and pumping as his mouth and tongue moved up, down, over, and around his cock. He tasted the salt of pre-cum on his tongue as he lapped over the head and moaned at the flavor. He was grounding himself in some deep shit, he knew. This was not one of his best decisions, but he'd be lying to say he would regret this. His hands became a bit erratic as they both drew closer. Eren's fingers threading and pulling Rivaille's hair as he nearly whined at how close he was. Rivaille too was about to come undone, and had lost it completely as Eren shouted his name, bucking his hips into his mouth as he held Rivaille's head deep over his cock. As the grip loosened and Rivaille half choked half swallowed the cum in his mouth, he made note that he would pay Eren back for that little face fucking bullshit he pulled at the end.

The sweating brunette tossed an arm over his eyes as his breathing calmed down. Rivaille carefully making his way to the kitchen to rinse his hands and tuck himself back into his jeans. Walking back into the room he found Eren sitting up in the recliner, still shirtless but pants rectified. Eren looked to Rivaille a little confused, a little tense even, and he couldn't help but get a bit nervous. Not wanting to give the wrong impression Eren spoke up quickly.

"For you… I didn't…"

"Are you sure you're not a virgin? You sure could pass as one."

Eren sputtered a bit, red in the face and pouted as he looked away.

"I'm not I just… feel bad… I didn't.. you know.. for you."

Rivaille made a mock face of understanding with a small 'Ah'.

"You're not very convincing you know that? Don't worry about it, I took care of it."

"Huh? When did you…? Oh…," Eren scratched the back of his head sheepishly with a small smile, "I still feel a bit guilty."

The admission was quiet but Rivaille just shook his head amused at how the guy could go from cocky to timid so quickly.

"If you want to make it up to me then you can give me a massage and scrub down in the bath."

The invitation was thrown over his shoulder as Rivaille was already making his way to the restroom. Eren didn't have to be asked twice as he nearly jumped at attention and marched right after him. Maybe he could make it up to Rivaille tonight after all.

Notes: So not much more of this left but I have mixed feelings ~ So I need your opinions! Since this particular story is coming to an end should I make it part of a series? If I do I'll just post some one shots in this AU -verse whatever you want to call it ~ Well either way if not I hope you all enjoyed it thus far ~! Till next time! （○゜ε＾○）


	7. Chapter 7

Notes: I've gotten such wonderful responses to this story as well as To Exist ~ I want to thank you guys again I'm truly grateful -~ Alrighty so this is the last chapter ~~~~~~~ Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

When he said Eren could make it up to him with a scrub down and a massage, he meant just that, a scrub down and a massage. He doubted the rusted gears in Eren's head comprehended this, as straight forward as it had been. He didn't bother to confirm his suspicions by looking over to him, instead he stepped into his bathroom leaving the door open as an invitation to join him. Rivaille knew without a doubt Eren would follow him, he always does after all, its bitter sweet really.

He hears Eren's soft footsteps, padded from the carpet of the hallway, and doesn't bother to turn around. Instead he sets his knee on the side of the tub and leans over enough to turn on the faucet, testing the water for temperature. He doesn't hear the transition of his feet touching on the tile of the bathroom, instead the heavy flow of water blocks out the gentle sound. Rivaille straightens up once he's satisfied and plugs the drain to ready the bath, tossing in a bit of scented bath salt. An odd gift from Hanji, who told him it could help him relax more. He wasn't exactly sold on the idea of "miracle relaxation", but they did have a rather pleasant aroma, so he ended up using it religiously every time he soaked. It wasn't until he straightened up, all preparations aside from himself complete, to pull off his clothes that he finally caught green orbs staring.

"Care to join me or do you plan on watching me strip," Rivaille cocked a brow, "Though you're shit out of luck if you think I'll put on a show for you."

It was indescribably entertaining watching the range of expressions that Eren managed to pull within such a short span of time. The brat completely red in the face as he stared, mouth open for Christ's sake, as he stripped himself down. Normally, neat as he was, he would just toss his clothes on the toilet seat and bring them back into his room and straight into his hamper after he finished in the bathroom. Needless to say, with the deer caught in head lights, frozen in time, wide eyed and damn near drooling Eren, he took off each article of clothing…

One.

By.

One.

He took his time neatly folding it, ignoring the fact that Eren was gawking like an adolescent schoolboy who just caught a view of his first bare tit. Rivaille submerged himself in the water and looked over to Eren expectantly. The brunette chuckled softly scratching the back of his head sheepishly before walking next to the sink and removing his own clothing. He followed Rivaille's example and folded each piece, though a bit sloppier in his haste. Rivaille took the brief moment to visually appreciate Eren's form. He wasn't nearly as built nor toned as himself, but the muscles were clearly visible as they moved under his skin. Eren didn't seem to catch his lingering gaze as he moved to the tub and climbed in behind him, careful to watch the water level rise and not spill over.

Once Eren settled in he pointed to the corner caddy and directed him to the soap and bath sponge. He was surprised the brunette didn't have some type of quip about his silent instructions, though it soon became clear why he didn't. Eren's hands were a little shaky, and honestly it was too ridiculous not to snicker. How could he not torment the male behind him? He imagined the brat went red behind him when he called him out on it. Even more so when he so lewdly reminded him, not even twenty minutes ago, that he nearly lodged his dick in his stomach with his little 'finishing' move. He also took this time to stress to Eren to maintain some proper control in the future. He heard the slight swish of the water, from Eren stilling his movements after he sputtered at the comment, and maintained the smirk on his lips. It was too fun, and the kid just made this too easy. He couldn't help but wonder what got to him more, the comment itself or the promise of a next time?

The brunette coughed to clear his throat, mumbling something Rivaille didn't quite catch, and began to lightly scrub his back, making a soft apology accompanied with a defiant grumble about his teasing him. Rivaille felt his shoulders relax as the soft lathered sponge glided over his skin. He dropped his head forward a bit, focusing on the light touches from Eren's finger tips as he moved the sponge up, down, into the warm water, and back up over his body. He sighed contently as the sponge was joined by Eren's free hand. As the sponge moved up his right side the hand followed on his left. Palm flat at times, and other, fingers soothing the muscles beneath them with firm circular strokes. The hands and sponge explored his sides and soon wrapped around to his stomach then up his chest. Rivaille felt the warmth of Eren's stomach and chest pressed against his back, legs up on either side of his hips, before he registered the sound of the water sloshing forward and back in the bath. He let his head fall backward to rest on Eren's shoulder, neck exposed and Eren himself gulping from the view. Rivaille's body may have lacked in height but he prided himself in his build. His neck dipped into shoulders bound with tight lean muscle. His chest and stomach well defined without bulging out too much, just small even dips, his abs closer to an eight than a six pack. His waist tapered into proportioned and even hips, legs short but well defined as well. He practically heard the bob of Eren's Adam's apple as he swallowed. He could feel Eren's eyes on him, knew he was staring. Watching how the sponge and his fingers moved across his torso and chest, the rise and fall in between each muscle as continued to "clean" him. It wasn't until Eren dipped the sponge down to wash his legs that Rivaille let out a barely there gasp. It felt good when Eren's hand followed. Maybe too good.

Eren traced down his outer thighs before circling over the top and moving back up and around, careful not to touch him as he passes. After a few repetitions Eren's bare hand moves up over his thigh to the center of his stomach and pauses, then slowly moves his hand down. His fingers brush the coarse hairline and Rivaille's hand catches his wrist before he moves any further. The brunette barely stops the whine of annoyance from leaving his throat.

"I want to touch you."

Rivaille's brows pinch but he doesn't move, or even open his eyes as he answers.

"You 'are' touching me brat."

Eren bites his lip and lets out a huff of air, leaning down he nips at Levi's neck and buries his head into his shoulder as much as physically possible, despite the uncomfortable arch in his back to maintain the position.

"I 'want'," he stresses the word which earns him another grunt from Rivaille, "to touch 'all' of you."

The reply is softer than he's sure Eren expected.

"Not tonight."

"Why not?"

Rivaille opens his eyes narrowly in a brief glare before closing his eyes and trying in vain to regain his relaxation, "I don't see why I have to explain myself to you."

"You don't have to but I sure would appreciate it."

He doesn't like the tone. Not one bit, but he supposed to satisfy the little shit he would have to offer something.

"You drank."

"So did you, that didn't stop you before, and besides I'm not even drunk."

"No, you may not be," Rivaille nearly growled, all he wanted was a fucking massage, "However, considering the circumstances of which we met, I'm not going to let you get me off with anything, no matter how minuet, in your system. It's one thing to wake up after a blow job, it's another to wake up after giving one. Unlike taking a shit and flushing it once your done, my dick's not going anywhere you can stand to be a little more patience and respect my wishes."

Eren obviously hadn't expected that sort of explanation. The silence hung in the air around them. Eventually Eren lifted his head and circled his arms around Rivaille. The drip and movement of water, the faint breathing shared between the two was all the sound that filled in the room. Rivaille felt the warm chest pressed into him rise and fall with even, calm breaths. He thought perhaps Eren had fallen asleep, after all he was pretty close to nodding off himself, and he didn't really want to move just yet. Just a little longer he wanted to enjoy the cooling water and the warm body embracing him this intimately, though he doesn't suppose he would admit that aloud, just allow it for as long as possible without disturbing it. It isn't till Eren speaks that he realizes he was never asleep, the embrace tighter as he spoke.

"Thank you."

Simple. Sincere. Grateful.

Rivaille never thought the simple phrase could lift so much weight off his heart.

"Eren," Mikasa's arms are crossed, her face darkening as she glares a hole into his neck. At the hickey on his neck to be more precise. Then focuses on the shorter man behind him. Unaffected grey orbs completely disinterested meet her furious gaze, after a brief moment he clicks his tongue before speaking up.

"I'll be leaving."

Watching Rivaille turn on his heel to leave him to the wolves, or rather wolf so to speak, Eren makes some kind of stammered explanation to his sister. Looking back and forth from Mikasa to Rivaille's retreating figure, calling him back over almost desperate. The kid's a fucking moron if he thinks he'll be subjected to his siblings sister complex. 'Rivaille', he whines with a shout, but he doesn't stop instead choosing to shout over his shoulder.

"I'll buy the coffee tomorrow kid," he offers a backwards wave and throwing one more offer on the table, "Or we can go together next time, if you're willing to stay the night."

He's sure the suggestive tone he used had Eren blushing from his neck to the roots of his hairline, and despite how tempting it is would be to witness it with his own eyes, the sight of the surely enraged female behind is deterrent enough. He'll have plenty of time to evoke similar, if not the same reaction, and oh was he looking forward to it.

Notes: Short I know it's short - I didn't think I needed to make this chapter a long one ~ I will be turning this into a series (~^3^)~ 3 I have a lot of fun writing this one and it seems to be well received and honestly I don't think I could really slap a definitive ending on this intentionally or not anyway Look forward to some filling in the blanks ~ Later chapters in the series will focus on anything neglected to touch base on ( Like Eren's parents or How Eren nearly ended up as a human penis puppet... that wise cracks in poor taste {sorry not sorry} for example ) I'm kind of entertaining the idea of even writing a chapter solely picking on Rivaille's fecal humor ( because the world needs more jokes about poops ) All that aside I'll start up on chapters for the series after I get a couple chapters up on To Exist! ~ Please look forward to it!~ I'm rambling - sleep deprivation it's an ugly thing ok I'm DONE Till next time ヾ(◜▿‾ 三 ‾▿◝)ﾉ

Alrighty ~ "Idol Worship" is officially a series ~ all side stories will be posted here:

s/9675839/1/Idol-Worshiper-Series-part-2

Thank you!~ and Enjoy~


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